National Zoo Andean Bear Cubs Are Healthy, Vets Say

WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- The two Andean bear cubs at the Smithsonian National Zoo are in great health, vets say.

On Wednesday, the cubs received a clean bill of health after zooveterinarians completed a physical exam. The exam was thorough and included "listening to the cubs' hearts and lungs; checking their mouth, eyes, legs, feet and genital area; and feeling their bellies," the zoo said in a press release.

Vets said it appears that the cubs are a male and female but it is to soon to confirm since theirgenitalia has not fully developed.

Billie Jean, the National Zoo's six-year-old Andean bear, gave birth to two cubs early in the morning of December 14. weighing in at just 10 to 18 ounces.

Today, the healthy cubs have grown tremendously weighing in at 10.1 and 9.2 pounds, the press release said.

Andean bears-also known as spectacled bears-are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, and it is estimated that there are only 2,000 left in their natural habitat.